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Kia to show KND-7 concept at CES in Las Vegas

January 6, 2014

The Kia KND-7, set to appear later this week at CES, is identical to the Cub concept shown in Seoul in March of 2013. Photo by Kia

Even though just a few years ago, cars weren't a prominent part of the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it is now an event filled with automakers and their concepts. And for the 2014 edition of the massive show, Kia will bring their KND-7 concept. The KND-7 features a 1.6-liter turbocharged GDI (gasoline direct injection) four-cylinder engine good for 201 hp, along with cheeky exterior design.

Kia showed an identical four-door coupe concept dubbed Cub at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show back in March. The pillarless four-door coupe resembled the Volkswagen Beetle on the outside, right down to the choice of exterior color, albeit one with a different approach to interior design -- the Kia featured suicide doors and an access-all-areas interior layout. The purpose of the Cub concept was to highlight both the luxurious interior and the new exterior wrapper while also showcasing Kia's Driving Information System, which reads the driver's gestures.

At the time the concept was shown in Seoul last year, Kia said there were no plans to take the car into production, though it's worth pointing out that the KND-7 itself is a reinterpretation of the Kia Kee 2+2 concept from 2007. Kia seems to be spending a lot of time on this design theme for a car that it claims won't be built...

Since this is CES, Kia will also be featuring a number of new telematics and infotainment technologies, notably their UVO VR (Voice Recognition) tech. Kia is also promising a new infotainment system in their 2015 model year vehicles, with apps such as iHeartRadio, and SoundHound music recognition, and Yelp. The KND-7 concept will roll out towards the end of the week, so we'll be waiting to see what kind of new tech Kia will have on display.